Conway Tops $1.2 Million in city elections

It was in 2010, just two years ago, that Ron Conway told a business group “We are going to take our city back.”

This year, Conway appeared before the Commonwealth Club to update that pledge.

“Guess what,” Conway said, “Ed lee got elected mayor, and we have taken our city back,” reported the San Francisco Business Times in a May 2012 Conway profile.

At the time Conway made his 2010 boast, he already was writing checks to candidates for the Board of Supervisors, School Board and ballot propositions like the Sit/Lie law banning sleeping on sidewalks.

In 2010, Conway and his family contributed $133,500

The following year, Conway and his family doubled down with contributions totaling $211,193.62. Half of that total was aimed at electing Ed Lee as mayor.

This year, Conway and his family upped their game by a factor of four.

By October 28, 2012, they contributed $876,100.

The two-year total comes to $1,220,793.62.

While supervisor candidates can only accept contributions of $500, those same supervisors face no restrictions when it comes to funding their campaigns for the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee.

Conway was a generous donor – particularly considering that until earlier that year he was a registered Republican and only recently re-registered as “declined to state.”

Conway funded a committee called “A New San Francisco Majority” for the Central Cmmittee with a $15,000 check, Malia Cohen with a $5,000 check, Scott Wiener with $2,500.

In the supervisor contests, Conway has contributed the maximum to David Lee and Christina Olague – and then contributed $69,000 to defeat Olague following her vote on Official Misconduct charges against Sheriff Mirkarimi.

A review of all $1.2 million in contributions looks like this:

$275,000 for Yes on Prop E to change San Francisco’s tax code

$105,693.62 for an independent committee supporting Ed Lee

$100,100 to Prop B for the park and waterfront improvements

$69,000 for San Francisco Women for Accountability aimed at defeating Christina Olague.

$65,000 for “Coalition for Civil Sidewalks” to ban sleeping on city sidewalks

$60,000 to SF Alliance for Jobs and Sustainable Growth

$49,000 for a new Mayor Ed Lee for San Francisco Committee spending to pass propositions in November